I wrote the following after Senator Sanders conceded to Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention. There were a lot of people calling for Sanders supporters to “fall in line” behind the Democratic nominee.

People, especially people of my generation, try to remember what this felt like, and give the DNC protesters you disagree with a little room to figure things out for themselves. Don’t push and don’t belittle.

Put your own fears aside and offer empathy instead of hatred and apocalyptic fear mongering. Stop pushing and listen. Acknowledge the great loss they are suffering. Give them time to grieve and show them the respect they deserve, and maybe then they will be more receptive to your point of view. Some will not, but that is their right. Some who Sanders brought into the party would have never registered or voted without him anyway. Some would have always voted Green or 3rd party. That’s Democracy.

… And these children that you spit on
as they try to change their worlds
are immune to your consultations.
They’re quite aware of what they’re going through…

So Rolling Stone endorses Hillary Clinton in a piece written by none other than Jann Wenner. No surprises there. Jann Wenner’s estimated net worth is 700 million. I do not expect a multi-millionaire to give voice to the hopes and dreams of the middle class in this country. *

Here’s my response to a few of Mr. Wenner’s rather dismissive assertions:

The narrative that Sander’s voters are angry is a false narrative at least as far my personal experience goes. What attracts people to Bernie Sanders is his integrity and a record of consistently being on the right side of progressive issues for years. This inspires dare I say it – hope in Sanders supporters. This is why people like me and many others from all ages and all walks of life repeatedly give to the Sanders campaign.

Hillary on the other hand has consistently been on the wrong side of progressive issues only to have her opinion change when confronted by Sanders (Iraq War, NAFTA, TPP, Prison Sentencing to name a few). When was the last time a true progressive called young black men “predators” who “need to be brought to heel”? That is not a progressive voice. That is the voice of the old South. Oh, she’s changed you say? It was so long ago. No, I lived through those times, part of it in Harlem and no one was using that kind of language except for racists and Republicans (who were most likely racists). At the same time Bernie Sanders was fighting against the stronger prison sentences which have ruined so many lives and families.

Hillary Clinton is owned by, or at the very least, highly indebted to the super-wealthy in this country. It only follows that she will do their bidding. This has nothing to do with GOP smears and everything to do with Hillary and her record. Her ties to Monsanto, Goldman Sachs, WalMart and the for-profit prison industry among others show where her loyalties lie.

Speaking of Goldman Sachs, where are the transcripts of the Goldman Sachs speeches? Why does the Clinton campaign refuse to turn them over? What is so damning in those transcripts that they will not turn them over? According to Politico, HRC was paid $675,000 for three speeches given to Goldman Sachs. That is an obscene amount of money to be paid for three speeches. HRC supporters aren’t you even curious what was in those speeches?

The argument that she can get things done rings false to me also. She has not demonstrated any sort of integrity, wisdom or foresight in her judgement or decision making. Like her husband, she will forward the Republican Neo Con agenda. More wars, more dismantling of Social Safety Net programs. More flow of money out of the middle class to the top 1%.

Maybe any perceived anger in Sanders voters comes from the feeling the the system is rigged. The media ignores his campaign or prints misleading hatchet jobs on him. There were 16 hatchet pieces on Sanders in 16 hours by the WaPo because Jeff Bezos does not want a Sanders Presidency. The NY Times edits an online piece on Sanders that starts out positive and makes it negative. Bill Clinton goes around consistently breaking election laws. The DNC is chaired by Debbie Wasserman Schultz who was the co-chair of Clinton’s 2008 campaign. As DNC chair she puts up every obstacle she can to a Sanders nomination. Or maybe it’s the Super Delegates casting their votes with Clinton before a single vote was cast. How much more can possibly be stacked against the guy? Yet he keeps on fighting the good fight and we, his supporters will too.

Thanks Jann, Sanders just got another donation from me and hopefully many others.

My current amplifier build.

This without a doubt has been my hardest, most frustrating build to date. It’s also been a great learning experience thanks to some very helpful people in the “Hand Wired Amp House” group on Facebook. At some point I’ll have worked out the bugs and will post a video clip here.

The FB plugin I used for this gallery is borked from time to time. I’ll need to rebuild this gallery manually. Thanks for understanding.

The source of my frustration:

Because the right number of bikes is often one more than what you currently have. I wasn’t looking for a new bike but this one seemed to find me. I picked it up for such a low price that I could not turn it down. Luckily my wife is onboard with this. I’m shooting for 3500 miles this year and I find being able to mix it up helps me stay interested and stops me from burning out. 271 miles left to go before the end of the year. Should be a piece of cake but who knows what the weather and the holidays will bring.

I’ve probably played this song 10,000 times. I’m sure it’s etched into the minds of everyone in this house. I’ve worked out different ways of playing it and I can pretty much play it with my eyes shut *unless* you put me in front of a video camera. So that’s what I spent my time doing tonight while my wife and kids are out at the Hurricanes game. For some reason I freeze up in front of the camera. Anyway….. This take was the best of the bunch tonight. I built the amp, a tweed Fender Deluxe clone and the reverb unit, a clone of a Fender 6G15. The guitar is a Gretsch DuoJet and I run it through a Klon KTR and a tc electronic delay setup as a slapback echo. It’s only a few minutes long and worth watching for the blooper I put in at the end of the video.

I had my first bicycle crash in years last Friday. I tried to take a turn on a wet wooden bridge too fast and went down face first. Once I got over the shock and tried to fix what I could on my bike I continued on to ride another 50+ miles.

I’ve started riding the Neuse River Greenway in Raleigh, NC, once a week. I’ve been a year-round bicycle commuter in Durham, NC for the last 10+ years, averaging around 2000 miles a year. This year I’ve been trying to step things up a bit, by adding longer rides in the evening and riding the Neuse River Trail once a week.

I came upon the Neuse River Greenway through the Trailfinder App when I started looking for a longer paved trail than the American Tobacco Trail. The ATT is 30 miles round trip on pavement, while the Neuse River Trail is 66 miles round trip. An added bonus is that it only crosses one road for the full 66 miles. As of mid-October I’ve clocked over 2700 miles and hope to hit 3500 before year end. I keep track of the miles because it motivates me to ride, especially on the cold and dark days that will soon be upon us.

As I’ve gotten older I find myself moving away from the standard Gibson and Fender guitars to Gretsch guitars. I wish I had discovered these years ago, especially the DuoJet. I’ve never played a guitar that felt so right in my hands before. It’s been one of the nicer things about growing older.

G6120SSU Brian Setzer Nashville w/ Vox AC30

G9201 “HONEY DIPPER™” METAL RESONATOR

G6120SSU Brian Setzer Nashville w/ Vox AC30

Electromatic G5126 w/Ampeg Jet II

Electromatic G5126 – this was a factory second. I think I got it for $400.